Sale Sharks winger Mark Cueto has backed the club's young generation to step up and achieve senior international honours in the near future.

When England's EPS was announced for the 2012 Six Nations, there was an absence of representatives from the Sharks in the party, but Cueto believes that will soon change. The likes of James Gaskell, Henry Thomas, Kearnan Myall and David Seymour were all in the Saxons mix and Cueto has backed the quartet to continue their rise onto the Test scene.

"Already people like James and Henry are getting recognition at an international level and it all starts with the Saxons," Cueto told the Manchester Evening News. "I know Henry couldn't get involved in the Saxons squad for their two games earlier this month as he was injured but it showed he was up there in the selectors' thoughts.

"It all starts at your club as you have to play well there but you also need your club to be wining games and to be up in the top half of the table. It doesn't make it easy if you are in a relegation battle as we have been for the past couple of seasons.

"But the way the club is shaping up this season, the club will be doing everything to help promote the boys onto the international scene. They have just got to keep playing well. As well as Henry and James there are other guys in the backs, such as Tom Brady, Will Addison along with Rob Miller.

"These boys are just getting better and better every week. They are still unbelievably young so to be playing regularly at Premiership level is a massive achievement already. They have got to keep their feet on the ground which I am sure they will as they are very grounded lads.

"But if they keep working hard and playing as well as they have been so far in their careers, then they will definitely get the recognition."